Dear John,

Sorry for not getting back to you sooner. You are asking me questions based on a set of premises which are false.

You said:
You have someone who is in the final stages of Cancer (for this argument, we're going to assume that the person will die within the next ten days). He is in extreme pain and is not responding to any pain killers. The only way to stop the pain is to put him in medically induced coma and to wait for nature to take its course.

Neither you, nor I, nor your friends can make any assumption that a person will die at any given time. To make probably erroneous assumptions and take lethal actions on those assumptions, amounts to killing a person before the Creator decides that person's journey is complete. Your other questions are based on the assumption that putting a dying person into a coma is the right thing.

There are times where it is medically sound and permissible to put someone in a coma if it involves a good intent and a positive prognosis.

You said:

• Furthermore, as someone who believes in the existence of the soul, isn't it cruel for me to force the soul to remain trapped in the prison of its body where it is no longer conscious of itself and can't even do anything?

• Do you currently see your soul as being trapped in your body?

We are a composite body-soul person. The body struggles with sin and concupiscence while the well-informed soul guides us to the good and holy.

The scenario your friends have given you should be seen as an opportune time for redemptive and purifying suffering of that person's soul. If they know little or nothing about the Christian faith, they won't be able to grasp this.

• Who knows what is best for the soul?
  • you
  • me
  • your friends, or
  • the Creator of the soul, the Lord Himself?

The Catechism states:

You said:
Furthermore, the Church's teaching in the Catechism does not seem to address this kind of scenario adequately.

If that is your view, it may be because at the time the Catechism was published no doctor, in his right mind, would have ever thought of breaking the Hippocratic Oath. The word, assisted suicide, is not even found in the Catechism. Related to your question, this is what the Catechism does say:

So this hypothetical person with cancer is responsible for their soul, not your friends.

You said:
Surely there's an answer that shows care for the dying person without rejecting the infallibility of Christ and His Church!

• Are you and your friends concerned for the care of the dying person or the emotional struggle of immediate family members involved in this serious illness?

I don't want you to think that I don't appreciate the burden this puts on families. For that reason, let me share with you the personal passing of my father.

• On the passing of my father — dialogue and reflections.
  

Because there may be other issues I have overlooked, I've CC'd some of my colleagues so that you may get other replies.

Here are some other Resources:

• Debating Assisted Suicide
• The Doctor-Assisted Suicide Debate
• Brittany Maynard Family Pushing California Right-To-Die Bill
  • Guests:
  1. John La Grange, retired commercial fisherman with Compassion and Choices, a national advocacy group supporting end-of-life options.
  2. Jimmy Akin, Catholic Answers Live on KCEO-AM.
     
• To Live Each Day With Dignity
• Assisted Suicide Videos

I hope this helps,

Mike

Hi, Mike,

Here is an article from the USCCB's (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) medical ethics experts about the issue of pain control for terminal patients:

• Killing The Pain Not The Patient: Palliative Care vs Assisted Suicide

It points out an unpleasant fact about euthanasia:

The availability of assisted suicide as an option tends to reduce doctors' efforts at the more difficult task of alleviating pain.

— Andrew